Time to Roam Magazine Issue 3 - June/July 2013 | Page 13

Sunrise over Easts Beach, Kiama NSW. Photo Daniel Linnet

comes with a price tag that has a changed the
demographic of owners from travellers and
hippies to the advantaged affluent.
Australians have always had a love of
exploring their vast country during family
holidays. From the vast coastline, inland
rivers, to deserts and mountains, Australia
offers such variety for those prepared to travel.
Back in the 1970s, pioneers of television
travel documentaries the Leyland Brothers’
popularised this exploratory spirit with
their Super-8 footage. They brought the far
reaches of Australia into the lounge rooms
of the common couch potato, inspiring the
young nation to get up and see Australia for
themselves, travelling the great brown land
in a Kombi. Volkswagen Australia sponsored
the TV show, Ask the Leyland Brothers,
providing Mike and Mal with Kombis that

appeared to travel across terrain that no family
sedan possibly could. Kombis have been
circuiting and criss-crossing the continent
ever since, although today the ‘grey nomad’s’
vehicle of choice is a recreational vehicle that
is often much more spacious and modern than
the Kombi.
The standard family car does not offer
the space, versatility, comfort and amenities
required for extended trips and a nomadic
lifestyle. The necessity of a motel greatly
restricts where the car traveller can travel to
and stay. Tents offer limited protection from
the elements and the smorgasbord of deadly
mini-beasts in Australia. Caravans are not
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